Chapter 167 Night Talk
Li Shizhong knew that there were not a few people in the DPRK who were dissatisfied with the so-called Qingliu gang who were becoming more and more domineering, but most of them dared to be angry and dare not speak out. The gang became more and more arrogant, even openly shouting "If you are not a comrade, then you will be the same." The slogan "We are enemies" has raised the dispute over different opinions to the level of the sworn conflict between ourselves and the enemy, and put on a ferocious face of "We are gentlemen, and those who do not follow us are villains, and we must eliminate all villains." The Holy Emperor has clearly released a signal through this imperial rod, so Eunuch Li accurately predicted that many people would find ways to express their position to the Holy Emperor - not only to protect themselves, but also to have deep grudges. Officials from the outer court could not enter the palace at will. They had to come through Ma Quan's route, so they specifically asked the Emperor Sheng to take the few nights off and went to Ma's Mansion to hide in the study to observe. The Holy Emperor has already made up his mind to use the power of the inner court to check and balance those gossips who are not doing business all day long.
Most of the people who have come to visit recently are officials from the Six Ministries. The visits to Ma Mansion are all about romantic topics and not about other current affairs. This is also a common practice in the Ming Dynasty officialdom - visiting is to express your attitude and read the sages. Of course, the elites of the empire in the book will not do things like the aunts in the market who insist on naming and talking about things clearly, which will leave traces and lose their identity. Those who arrived at the right time entered the house, and those who arrived late saw the entourage of other colleagues outside the door of Ma Mansion. They asked the servants to put their own name badges on the door, and then stuffed the door bag with two or three taels: Don't "forget" the name. Just pass the post in and let Mr. Ma know that you have been here. There will be many opportunities to curry favor with this young upstart in the future.
Of course there will be a night ban in the important place of the capital. Those who can pass unimpeded at night are naturally high in official rank. The official rank is printed on the lantern, and the watchmen and soldiers on night watch respectfully avoid it. Li Shizhong also sent literate young eunuchs to guard nearby secluded areas, secretly taking note of those officials who were too timid and did not even dare to surrender. At this time, Eunuch Li needed to recruit as many foreign aid as possible. On this day, after sending off the last person, the second watch (9 to 11 pm) had already been struck. Li Shizhong came to the living room and had a brief chat with Ma Quan. Both of them were exhausted and were about to go their separate ways. Rest, unexpectedly, someone knocked on the door again.
In the Ming Dynasty, the second watch is almost equivalent to one or two o'clock in the morning in modern society. Visiting at this time shows how much this person wants to avoid being noticed! Ma Quan yawned and glanced at the famous assassin handed over by the door. His fatigue disappeared completely. He cast a surprised look at Eunuch Li and murmured: "How could it be him?"
Li Shizhong had limited literacy, but he could still recognize most of the characters on the name card. At a glance, he even guessed who the person was and was surprised. After explaining a few words to Ma Quan, he hid behind the screen and listened - the last person who came in was Jiang Yuanbiao in casual clothes!
Jiang Shizhan was the censor of Shaanxi Province, while the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Six Ministries were the places where the Qingliu gathered! It was on his recommendation that Lu Guangyu led the army to suppress Zhang Hu.
Ma Quan raised his hand to Jiang Yuanbiao and said, "Sir Jiang..."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he came in, the latter didn't care that the servant who was leading the way was still there. Without saying a word, he lifted up the hem of his clothes, knelt down, kowtowed heavily, and shouted: "Master Ma, help me!"
Of course, Ma Quan knew that Jiang Yushi's late-night visit was definitely not for scolding, but it was completely unexpected to give him such a gift as soon as they met. He hurriedly stretched out his hand to support him and said: "Master Jiang can't do it, please get up quickly, please get up quickly!"
Jiang Yuanbiao took a few steps back on his knees, struggled to free Ma Quan's hands, and lay on the ground crying: "Master Ma! Masters don't remember villains' mistakes. If you don't give me a clear message, I will die today." In front of adults..."
At this time, Ma Quan had only been promoted for a few days, and he had a lot of experience in being bullied, but this was the first time he had been begged like this. He was at a loss what to do and was extremely embarrassed. He kept saying "I can't do it, I can't do it", and he panicked. Just go and pull. When Jiang Yuanbiao heard this, he mistakenly thought that it was Ma Quan who was refusing, and even more tearfully communicated, so the two of them began to fight in the hall. Li Shizhong, who was hiding behind the screen, saw that the situation was becoming more and more outrageous. He couldn't stand it anymore. He coughed, walked out quickly, and shouted softly: "Stop! It's quiet at night, what are you talking about when you tell people to spread the word!"
Jiang Yuan was hesitant for a long time whether to come to Ma Mansion or not. Lord Jiang, who was originally from a poor family, was actually not the kind of person to make trouble out of nothing. He ended up in the Metropolitan Procuratorate by accident, and despite the torment of the Qingliu gang, Jiang Yuanbiao actually had no objections in his heart. But on the one hand, he has the expectations of the entire family for generations. Once he offends those guys, he will definitely pack up and go home, and everything will become a mirror. You have to serve them respectfully. Over time, you will naturally develop a sense of professional superiority. Now it is obvious that the Holy Emperor wants to deal with these trolls. If he does not make a clear distinction as soon as possible, he will inevitably die along with him - he may even be among the first batch: Lu Guangyu is still in prison. Not only did he collapse in one battle. , the old nest has been stolen by thieves, and the pigtails are ready-made! After thinking about it for a long time, my heart suddenly crossed and I came at night. The more this happened, the moment he saw Ma Quan, he had mixed feelings for some reason and almost collapsed, leading to this scene.
The two of them woke up after being scolded by Li Shizhong. Ma Quan immediately responded and stretched out his hand again: "Master Jiang, everything is easy to say, everything is easy to say, please get up and sit down to talk." Jiang Yuanbiao also got up and bowed deeply to Li Shizhong: "Eunuch Li, please forgive me. !”
Ma Quan asked Li Shizhong to sit at the head of the table and Jiang Yuanbiao to sit in the guest seat. The relationship between eunuchs and officials in the Ming Dynasty was very delicate. For example, if the Holy Emperor is compared to the head of a family, the eunuch is the domestic slave of the Holy Emperor, the civil servants are the housekeepers, and the military attachés are the bodyguards who protect the courtyard. Domestic slaves are still members of the family, and their own people, whether housekeepers or bodyguards, are still outsiders. The butler has a high status, so he is always domineering, but the master has no right to deal with the slaves without speaking. The bodyguards are servants who are only responsible for working hard, and they will be more polite to the slaves - sometimes the housekeepers bully the nursing home, and they will continue to do so. I hope my slave can appeal to the master for me. This is the private residence of Ma Mansion. Although Jiang Yuanbiao did not know at this time that Ma Quan had worshiped Li Shizhong as his adoptive father, he was not a fool. Of course, he had known for a long time that the relationship between the two was extraordinary. This trip was also to ask Ma Quan to leave Eunuch Li. When I saw the real owner on the spot, I felt even more nervous and complicated.
Li Shizhong was an eunuch of the inner court, and the main focus of the officials was to fight for power. At this time, the power of the imperial court was not yet in the inner court. The officials did not have any deep hatred against him, and they only occasionally criticized Sang and Huai. Eunuch Li's purpose is very simple, to vent his anger for the Holy Emperor and to contribute to the Holy Emperor's empire. Seeing Jiang Yuanbiao, he felt ecstatic in his heart: It would be really difficult if all the officials were monolithic, but if we could bring over a few of our own people, it would be much easier to handle!
The two sides hit it off immediately.
When Jiang Yuanbiao mentioned his worries about Lu Guangyu's case, Li Shizhong's eyes lit up and he asked Jiang Yuanbiao: "Does Shi Zhan have any familiar friends from other provinces who are familiar enough to share a few words?"
Jiang Yuanbiao's eyes grew hot when he heard this, and he left his seat and knelt down again: "Yes, yes, my father-in-law is so kind, and I will never forget it." - Eunuch Li's title was Jiang Yuanbiao, not "Jiang" "My lord", this already makes it clear that he is one of our own.
Li Shizhong nodded and said to Ma Quan: "Quan'er can say hello to Minister Feng who came two days ago, and ask the Ministry of War to write a memorial asking Commander Lu to commit meritorious service. This matter will almost have room for change."
Ma Quan responded.
Li Shizhong turned to Jiang Yuanbiao and said: "Shi Zhan, if you do another self-sacrifice, we estimate that the fine will be just a year's salary." As he spoke, the latter was startled and said somewhat displeasedly: "What? Could it be that you feel that A little heavy?"
Only then did Jiang Yuanbiao understand. He kowtowed his head heavily and said, "How dare you, my dear benefactor! I didn't expect that you would be able to get out of trouble like this. You are so happy that you are stupid!"
Li Shizhong smiled: "Shi Zhan, please get up and speak. Don't call me a villain anymore. You are all scholars, and you are also officials of the court. You must worry about the dignity of the court."
"I would like to follow the teachings of my benefactor. I am a lower-ranking official. Oh, it is a humble position. Oh, no, Yuan Biao should thank my benefactor again. Yuan Biao is ashamed and has no place. He has saved some money over the years and is willing to repay his benefactor."
Li Shizhong laughed again: "Oh? Tell me, how much money do you have?"
"Return to my benefactor. I don't dare to deceive my benefactor. Yuan Biao has about eight or nine hundred, a thousand or two." Jiang Yuanbiao knew that he really couldn't get rid of this little money, and he was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a crack in the ground to get in.
"Hahahaha, after many years as a censor, I have only been able to make a thousand taels. Shi Zhan is a good official! We don't want your money. Stop now, sit down and listen to what we have to say." Seeing Jiang Yuanbiao who had just sat down. About to jump up again, Li Shizhong waved his hand to stop, "Back then, our family was desperate and entered the palace. You scholars often talk about it, saying that you can't serve your parents when doing things in the court, and you can't have both loyalty and filial piety. Isn't it the same in our family?" Not to mention honoring parents, even the ancestors are sorry! Is this the truth? After I passed away, all I could think about was to do something for my hometown and do something for my clan. Our family is not what the officials said it was. He is a traitor to the country, but he is not a saint either. He will certainly have plenty of money to spend. Our family cannot accept this little money from you - you are an upright official. If we accept your money, not only will our old face be offended, but we will also die in the future. Even ghosts and gods will not agree. But some people are different. Our family knows that Commander Lu has lived in military camps for several generations. Isn’t that money free of charge? You will go to jail tomorrow. Tell him a message and ask him if he wants to die there, or take 10,000 taels and go back as a commander..."
After chatting until the middle of the night, Jiang Yuanbiao, who had expressed his gratitude for all the kindness, said goodbye and everyone was happy.
A few days later, the inner court.
The Holy Emperor put down the memorial of Feng Kai (named Guofeng), the right minister of the Ministry of War, and picked up the one he had just read. He said to Li Shizhong thoughtfully: "Jiang Yuanbiao neglected his duty when he participated in the meeting, and Feng Kai asked Lu to let him go again." Guangyu has done meritorious service, and Qian Qianfu, who was transferred from Jiangning to Shandong governor two days ago, also wrote a letter to intercede on his behalf... Do you know about this?"
Li Shizhong replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, I know. The old slave told your majesty when Jiang Yushi went to Ma Quan in the middle of the night. I think Jiang Yushi was afraid that your majesty would blame him, so he also found someone to help him. Can you say something nice?"
The Holy Emperor said "Huh" and then said displeasedly: "Then Jiang Yuanbiao betrayed my trust and even invited others to intercede with him. Isn't he a little brave? Humph!"
Li Shizhong knelt down and said, "Your Majesty. This old slave has something to say, I don't know if I should say it."
"You tell me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Jiang Yuanbiao did live up to His Majesty's trust. At Ma Quan's place, he begged the old slave to say a few good words for him in front of Your Majesty, and also gave the old slave money. He did not dare to deceive Your Majesty, and in desperation, He said that he had saved hundreds of taels over the years and wanted to give it all to the old slave. The old slave knew that he was anxious and was telling the truth. Of course, the old slave would not dare to ask for this money. But, having said that, a censor would do it After working for many years and only saving this little money, the old slave thought that Jiang Yushi's character was pretty good. Naturally, Lu Guangyu was not as good as Sun Shuai and Commander Yan, but no matter what, he had really fought. Shaanxi Province No matter whether it is Shaanxi Xingdusi, who else really dares to fight Zhang Thief? Those who have not fought dare to report a great victory. For the sake of the overall situation, the court cannot expose them for the time being. If those who have fought are punished too much, some, some, Well, I think this is a bit inappropriate, right? Those clean-blooded people often form cliques and respond to requests for help. Jiang Yuanbiao is from the Metropolitan Procuratorate. When something happens, it’s normal for him to ask a few people for help when he’s panicked. Besides, who can help at this time? If you still dare to help him, His Majesty also knows about his friends - you can also know something about the things under the water in the outer court?"
The Holy Emperor was a little moved: "Hey, what you said makes sense! Since you met Jiang Yuanbiao at Ma's house, what did Ma Quan say?"
"Your Majesty. Ma Quan only said one sentence: 'When employing people, it is better to use their merits than their faults'."
